Truth Will Out
by MarieKavanagh
Summary: After receiving a letter containing some potentially critical information regarding his son's activities at school this past year, Orion Black confronts his sixteen-year-old son for answers - but gets more than he bargained for when he enlists the help of a certain substance...


The atmosphere at the dinner table of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, was as stifling as the humid air of the warm, July evening that surrounded the house.

The family of four - Orion and Walburga Black, sat at the opposite heads of the table, as the father and mother of the family rightfully should, with a son on either side of the table, sandwiched safely between them - made their way through the final course of their evening meal.

A tense silence hung heavy in the air, broken only by the occasional, soft clatter of silver dessert forks against the glass bowls containing the fruit salad that the family matriarch had ordered the house elf to prepare. It was far too warm for the rich cakes that usually rounded off the family's traditional daily five-course dinners.

In the flickering candlelight of the dimly-lit dining room, three identical pairs of grey eyes remained almost permanently fixed down at their own food, only occasionally, and always separately, stealing a glance up at one another before returning to stare down at their fruit.

The fourth pair of eyes, however, also sharing the traditional steel hue so prized within the Black line, did not divert from their downward stare.

Sixteen-year-old Sirius Black sat slouched forward in his chair, elbow digging creases into the silver-embroidered tablecloth, the side of his face resting in his palm. His hair, an unkempt mane of black that was just one of the sources of his mother's many frustrations fell forward in a dark curtain to hide his features. He speared the last of the fruit in his bowl, clanging the silver fork a little more than necessary.

His entire being practically glowed with teenage sulkiness and irritation.

Finished with his food, Sirius carelessly tossed the silver fork down into the glass bowl with a loud clang that made his younger brother across the table wince.

Tossing his hair out of his eyes, Sirius pushed his chair back from the table with his feet, scraping the legs along the perfectly polished wooden floors harshly, and made to leave the table.

"You were not give permission to leave the table, Sirius Orion" came the quiet, firm voice of Sirius's mother. She didn't look up at her firstborn.

"So?" replied Sirius with a shrug. "I'm done"

"Stay where you are"

Sirius paused midway through standing at the firm voice of his father, Orion.

Orion Black was rarely involved in the day-to-day handling of his children. Sirius was far more used to ignoring the shrill orders or retaliating against the harsh shrieks of his mother than he was to hearing the quiet, yet deadly orders of his father. Though rarely heard, Sirius knew that his father was not one to be crossed lightheartedly. Orion was not a man accustomed to being disobeyed.

He slowly sank back down into his seat, slouching down low and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Sit up straight, Sirius" said Orion, catching his elder son's sullen gaze, the look he always adopted when being told what to do.

Nevertheless, the boy obeyed.

Orion returned to his food, neatly speared the last blueberry in his fruit bow, pretending not to have noticed the approving glance being directed at him from his wife from across the table.

The thick silence surrounding the family returned.

It was a near-daily occurrence that Sirius would take it upon himself to attempt to leave the table whenever he liked, regardless of whether the rest of the family were finished with their food or even if the entire meal was indeed complete. Sometime he was persuaded to stay by his mother's sharp tongue, sometimes he would ignore her completely and sometimes there would be an almighty row across the table as mother and son fought a battle of wills that could never have a fruitful ending.

Those were the days Orion rather wondered if he could justify sending for his food to be brought to him on a tray in the sanctuary of his study.

Today, however, was a different matter. Orion had a matter to peruse, involving his wayward eldest son.

Every morning, without fail, and precisely nine o'clock, Orion awaited the arrival of his copy of the Daily Prophet, delivered by owl straight to his study window. Orion liked to make a habit of giving the paper a thorough once-over each morning to ensure he was aware of any potential matters of concern, without discrimination of topic.

His sister Lucretia might like to joke that her brother was the only man in England who read the society pages, but if there was any scandal threatening to brew that may somehow drag the Black name into it, Orion liked to be well-aware of it.

The pureblood families of the Twenty-Eight had barely ceased their mutterings over the Andromeda debacle - the last thing Orion needed was another gossip story to be allowed to break.

This particular morning, however, which had begun as warm and sunny as any other July day, had brought with it rather peculiar news via a rather shabby-looking barn owl, hot on the feathers of its smarter Daily Prophet-wielding companion.

Orion set aside his rolled-up newspaper and took the letter offered to him by the somewhat nervous barn owl, which hopped back from the desk to the window sill and took flight mere seconds later, as if it couldn't bare to be inside Grimmauld Place for any longer than necessary.

The wax seal bore no family crest and the parchment was lower-quality than that of which Orion was used to receiving information on. The wax broke away easily from the parchment, practically crumbled to the slightest force, demonstrating its poor quality.

Orion's first instinct was to toss the letter straight into the fireplace. It was likely to be either a junk or advertising letter or at least not from anyone worth his concern. No one of any value to Orion would deem it suitable to write correspondence to the likes of him on such shoddy stationary, nor did he recognise the owl who delivered it. The shabby creature had looked rather run down and reminded Orion starkly of the poor overworked birds for hire at the general post office.

He was halted in his intentions, however, by the flicker of writing that caught his eye as the cheap parchment unfolded itself flimsily from itself.

_"-concerning your son"_

Those three words were enough to draw Orion's interest back to the letter. Orion was more than used to receiving notes containing these words, but before now they had been written in distinctive emerald ink on parchment headed with the Hogwarts crest, delivered by smart school tawny owls.

This, however, was something different.

His brow furrowed in curiosity, Orion sat back in his chair and began to read.

_Dear Mr. Black, _

_We have not been properly introduced but I'm sure you've heard quite a lot about my son, Peter, over the last few years. He and your son, Sirius, are housemates and good friends at Hogwarts. _  
_I am sorry to have to write you this news, but I felt it my duty as a parent to inform you of what I have been made aware of concerning your son. _

_It has been brought to my attention, via Peter, that Sirius has been attempting to become an Animagus whilst at Hogwarts, this academic year just gone. As I'm sure you are aware, at sixteen and without supervision, this is quite illegal and, I'm sure you will agree, inappropriate, especially whilst at school. _

_As I say, I did not feel comfortable being in possession of such information and felt it only right to ensure you are aware of your son's behaviour. I'm sure you will be taking this matter seriously and if you wish to discuss it further with myself, please do not hesitate to reply via the address above. _

_Kind regards, _

_Mrs. Enid Pettigrew _

Brushing aside his immediate irritation at the impertinence of this woman to presume to decide for him the nature of his own son's behaviour, Orion pondered the matter thoughtfully.

If true, this was indeed a serious breach of Wizarding law, not to mention enough of an infringement to no doubt earn Sirius expulsion for carrying out such activities on school premises.

He sighed, rubbing his temple in frustration. His collection of letters from Sirius's Head of House regarding his wayward son's misbehaviour at school was large enough to fill almost an entire file, but in five years' worth of schoolboy pranks and childish misgivings, never had any of Sirius's reported trespasses contained an actual illegality.

And yet...

The Pettigrew woman's letter seemed rather vague. Perhaps, even deliberately so. At first Orion had wondered if her emphasis on her feelings of "duty to inform him of his son's behaviour" hinted at her desire for some form of thanks, perhaps a monetary reward of some sort.

Orion scoffed. His family's wealth and status were well enough known, but the woman clearly didn't know the first thing about him personally if she thought he was one to toss a galleon at her for her information, like a biscuit to a hound upon presenting the hunter with the fallen pheasant.

Or maybe there was a more sinister motive behind this shoddy letter. Orion pondered the fact that she had uncovered such information via her son, Peter. He had not "heard quite a lot about her son" from Sirius, as the boy's mother assumed. He was vaguely aware of the name Peter Pettigrew - the name had cropped up more than a few times in Professor McGonagall's letters, listed as one of Sirius's fellow guilty students. Not as often as the name James Potter, mind, but often enough. He recalled once hearing Sirius describe him as "a bit dim, to be honest", but that was several years ago now.

Before he'd fully devoted himself to as deep a level of dissociation with his family as he could get away with whilst under his father's roof.

Orion pondered the idea that the Pettigrew boy not merely an informant in this matter, but perhaps a fellow guilty party. Could it be that the boy's mother was attempting to strike some sort of deal? If discovered by the Ministry, both of their families would be left with rather unfortunate consequences for both of the boys. Could it be that Mrs Pettigrew was attempting to buy Orion's silence on the matter for the sake of her keeping Sirius's own crimes to herself?

This matter would have to be handled carefully. Orion was not gullible to believe the woman's vague words off the bat, especially without any evidence to back up her claims. For all he knew, this entire situation may be false - a scheme to get something out of him.

Orion knew he needed to find out the facts. The truth of the matter, from Sirius himself. And he also knew that if these allegations were true or not, Sirius would do nothing but loudly protest his innocence, followed, most likely, by refusing to come out of his room for as long as possible and prolonging the already sour household mood in the process.

Folding Mrs Pettigrew's letter, Orion stood from his desk chair and strode over to the large, wall-length wooden cabinets on the far side of his study. He tapped his wand on the required door, each one with the same delicate serpent detailing etched into the handle, and it obediently unlocked itself, swinging open silently.

He drew out one of his many identical black leather files (no one save him could ever hope to select the right one first time), and filed the letter away amongst the rest of the correspondence he'd received regarding his elder son's behaviour at school.

This letter did, however, bear the honour of being the only one written by a parent and not a teacher.

Having slipped the file away and locked the cabinet door once more, Orion moved along the unit and paused at one of the drawers below the cabinets He tapped his wand and it slid open. Inside the drawer was an ornate wooden box, perfectly sized to fit in the drawer with just the right amount of wriggle room to lift it out, as though the two had been made for each other.

The box contained a collection of small potion phials, each one glinting in the morning sunlight with a slightly different hue of colour, depending on the potion contained within. These phials were of the more select and expensive part of Orion's personal potion collection. Many of them he kept more for the sake of having, rather than use. It did well to keep such things in one's own stock, simply to say you had them, if not for actual use.

Today, however, it seemed one particular potion had a a task to fulfil.

Orion lifted the phial containing the crystal clear, water-like Veritaserum and held it up to the light, examining it thoughtfully as it swilled up and down inside the glass.

It was frowned upon, generally, to resort to the use of such a potion under most circumstances, but these were not normal circumstances at all. With an almost certainly this Sirius would not give up the truth of the matter of his own accord, it seemed that a little help was going to be required.

After polishing off the last of his fruit, Orion put down his silver fork. No sooner had he dabbed his mouth with his napkin did he hear the sound of Sirius's chair scraping back from the table, taking it up himself to assume he could leave now that the meal was over.

"Sirius, come up to my study in half an hour" Orion said, meeting his firstborn's surly glare at the order. "Assuming that the pressing business you so clearly need to attend to doesn't cause delay, I expect you there promptly"

He observed Sirius's clenched jaw, clearly biting back a protest he knew better than to give.

"Fine" Sirius muttered, tossing his hair out of his eyes as he turned and left the dining room without so much as a goodbye to his parents or brother.

Walburga glared at her husband from across the table, clearly wanting him to say something, but Orion let him go. There was no point bothering to reply to such behaviour. Unlike his wife, Orion did not see shouting his frustration at Sirius as productive means of attempting to bring their son to heel.

Fortunately, he rather thought that his intentions for the evening may just cut it.

Half an hour later, at nine o'clock exactly, Orion looked up from his desk at the clock on the mantelpiece above his study fireplace. Sirius was officially late.

Briefly, he wondered if his son would attempt to avoid the summons to his father's study altogether. Years of similar such summons leading only to punishment probably meant he knew this was not simply a meeting intended for a friendly chat. Orion wondered if perhaps Sirius was aware of the fact that his secret endeavours had been discovered, assuming they were, in fact, true.

Just as Orion was beginning to think his wonderings were right, the door to his office swung wide open and in strode Sirius, hands thrust deep into his robes pockets and looking perfectly bored to be here at all.

"Right, what's this about then?" the sixteen-year-old asked, glancing across the room at the fireplace, avoiding his father's stern gaze.

Orion silently took up his quill and returned his attention to the accounts book before him.

A silence hung between them, broken after barely a few moments by Sirius's impatiently tapping foot.

"Well? What do you want? Or did you bring me here just to watch you write?" Sirius asked irritably.

"Since you've taken it upon yourself to enter without permission, I suggest you wait until I've finished my task, or leave and try again"

With a heavy sigh of annoyance, Sirius swept from the room, pulling the door shut behind him, heavily, and knocking loudly on the wood.

Orion waited a few seconds before calling for him to enter.

The door swung open once more and Sirius entered.

"Good evening, Father, and to what do I owe this pleasure of an audience?" he said sarcastically with a flamboyant wave of his arm in greeting.

Orion allowed himself to smirk in amusement at Sirius's mocking smile.

Insolent boy. He wouldn't be smiling for long.

"Take a seat, Sirius" said Orion, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk.

Sirius flung himself down into the seat lazily, slouched back. He was either so insolent as to not care that he had been summoned to the room which no traditionally associated with punishment, or he was deliberately acting out to mask his nerves. Orion wasn't quite sure which, at this point.

The senior Black replaced his elegant eagle feather quill in its holder and eyed his son. Sirius was the picture of teenage insolence; his long, black mane unkempt, his shoulders slumped, the material of his robes creased from his awful seating posture. He carried himself with none of the dignity that an heir of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black ought to. The notion never failed to spark a note of irritation in Orion every time he had examined his son over the last couple of years.

"Would you care for some tea, Sirius?"

Sirius's gaze jerked suddenly from the fireplace to his father, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

Orion couldn't blame him. In fairness, he'd never been offered a drink in this room before.

"What?" he asked, roughly.

Orion ignored his son's rudeness, this time.

"I asked if you'd care for some tea" Orion repeated, careful to keep his voice calm and friendly.

"You made me traipse all the way up here for tea?"

"Can I not simply partake in a cup of tea with my own son?"

"Don't feel like tea"

"Perhaps something stronger, then? A whiskey, perhaps?"

Sirius's head tilted to the side in puzzlement.

"You're offering me whiskey?" he asked, clearly expecting this to be some sort of trick question.

"Well, you're really rather grown now, after all" said Orion. "You'll be seventeen in only a few short months. Why not? Just the one, mind"

Sirius's mouth curved up into a smirk.

"Yeah, sure. Go on then" he said with a nod.

If Orion was expecting a "please" from his son, he was sadly to be left wanting.

The boy's manners truly were dreadful, these days. Nothing like the ones his parents had brought him up to have. Still, another matter for another time.

Orion got to his feet and strode over to the end table in the corner which played host to his heavy, crystal decanter and tray of matching glasses.

Orion poured two of the crystal glasses with whiskey from the decanter. The phial of Veritaserum, stored safely inside his robes pocket, stayed where it was.

"There we are" said Orion cheerfully as he handed Sirius his unadulterated glass. "See what you make of that"

He observed Sirius from his seat, making sure to take a sip of his own drink first so as to put off any initial suspicions his son might have.

Sirius brought the glass up, swirled it for a second and took a sip.

"Not bad" he said with an approving yet critical nod, as if he were well-versed in the taste of fine spirits.

"It's a particularly fine one, this" said Orion, giving his own glass an absent-minded tilt in the evening sun pouring through the velvet curtains behind him in a single, strong ray. "Scottish, naturally"

"Naturally" Sirius agreed, with a thinly-veiled element of sarcasm.

"So" Orion continued, casually. "How has school been this year?"

Sirius seemed taken aback by the question. He paused for a moment before reply.

Good" he said shortly with a nod. "Not bad"

"OWLs went well, did they?"

"Yeah, not bad"

Orion chuckled a little.

"Come now, don't be so modest, Sirius" he said with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "You're an intelligent boy, there's no point trying to be modest about what everyone already knows"

Sirius couldn't seem to help but smirk again as he took another generous sip of his whiskey.

"Be rude of me to disagree, I guess" he replied with a shrug, feigning modesty.

"Indeed" Orion agreed, sipping his own drink. "You've always been clever. Right from when you started lessons in the schoolroom, you always seemed to grasp things remarkably easily. I'm quite sure your OWL results will reflect that"

Sirius's smirk seemed to soften into a genuine smile. He quickly hid it behind his whiskey glass, taking another deep sip, draining his deliberately modest glass dry.

"My my, you seem to have taken to that well" Orion remarked, raising an eyebrow at his son's empty glass. "Another, perhaps?"

Sirius's brow furrowed.

"You said I could only have one"

Orion waved a hand dismissively.

"Well, to be honest I wasn't expecting you to take to it so quickly, what with it being your first taste"

Sirius's eyes diverted to the fireplace once more. He never could seem to look his father in the eye when confronted with what he knew was an untruth.

"One more small glass won't hurt" Orion added as he held out his hand for Sirius's empty glass.

"Alright, if you insist" Sirius said, jokingly, handing his glass to Orion.

I do indeed, not that you really need much persuading, Orion thought to himself as he strode back over to the end table and began to pour the whiskey.

The end table was positioned most conveniently, in that from the corner in which it sat, Orion was able to shield exactly what he was doing from preying eyes with his own back, meaning that Sirius was oblivious to the fact that his father smoothly took the small, glass potion phial from his robes pocket and deposited a single drop of the colour-less, odour-less and flavour-less Veritaserum into his drink.

"Here we are"

Orion handed Sirius back his replenished glass and was pleased when the boy immediately took sip, not waiting time with bothering to thank him.

"So, Sirius" Orion began, taking another sip of his own, only-half finished first glass of whiskey. "By any chance, is there anything you'd like to tell me?"

"Not really"

Sirius seemed to flinch a little as he spoke, as though he wasn't quite sure he meant to say those exact words, nor quite so promptly.

He took another sip of his drink, as if to steady himself.

Orion suppressed a smirk. The Veritaserum was kicking in.

A fast-acting and potent substance, Veritaserum was capable of producing almost-instant results. The maximum potential dose of three drops per subject would reduce the drinker to an almost trance-like state, practically unable to do anything but answer any and all questions truthfully.

Orion had decided, however, that this was unnecessary for his task. A single drop would produce just as effective results, ensuring Sirius was unable to stop himself from telling his father exactly what he wanted to know whilst also keeping him lucid enough to endure whatever consequential dressing-down Orion decided to give him once he'd confessed his crimes.

"Nothing at all?" Orion continued, careful to keep his tone casual. "No news you wish to report? No... extracurricular activities you've indulged in this year?"

Sirius opened his mouth as if to respond but suddenly clenched his jaw shut and paused, thinking.

Orion wondered in amusement if this was perhaps the first time his son had ever thought before he spoke.

"Why do you suddenly want to talk about my school life?" Sirius demanded. His suspicion seemed to be growing.

"I had a letter this morning"

"Oh?"

"From a Mrs Pettigrew"

Sirius, in the middle of taking another sip of his whiskey, suddenly spluttered slightly.

"Sorry" he muttered, noticing his father's raised eyebrow, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand.

"A little strong for you, is it?"

Sirius reddened visibly. But he also put down his glass.

"This Pettigrew woman, she's the mother of a friend of yours, isn't she?"

"Yes" Sirius replied automatically, causing him to flinch again.

"Peter, wasn't it?"

Sirius's jaw was clenched tightly, but he seemed to be unable to prevent himself from nodding, silently.

He seemed nervous. His foot tapped on the ground, an impatient and nervous tick of his.

"You seem uncomfortable, Sirius" said Orion, his voice all innocent concern. "Is the drink too much after all?"

Orion shook his head in disappointment.

"I did worry that sixteen was perhaps still a little too young. No matter, plenty of time for your palate to mature"

"No" Sirius replied sharply, snatching up his glass and draining the last of his drink for good measure, exactly as his father knew he would do.

"This Mrs Pettigrew has... confided something to me" said Orion, rising slowly from his chair.

He strode a few paces cross the window behind his desk, parting the curtains to glance out at the warm, July evening. The sky was fading from its light, pastel blue afternoon hue to the faded pink of approaching sunset.

"A worry, really. She seems to believe that it's possible..."

Orion paused and chuckled.

"Absurd, I know, but she seems to think that there's something you've been doing at school, in your spare time, that's rather, shall we say, not entirely legal"

Orion turned from the window the look at his son.

Sirius was gripping the sides of the seat of his chair, his knuckles going white with effort. His eyes were cast down at the floor, his expression alarmed, his previous cheeky demeanour entirely gone.

His guard was well and truly up.

"Is this true, Sirius?" Orion asked calmly, turning to face him properly.

Orion could see his son was biting the inside of his mouth with effort not to speak, his shoulder tensed rigid.

"Answer me, Sirius" he commanded firmly.

"Yes" Sirius blurted out, as though letting out a long-held breath.

He slowly looked up at Orion, his grey eyes wide with alarm. He seemed taken aback by how calm his father appeared after hearing such an admission, one which he clearly hadn't intended to give.

His gaze occasionally flickered down towards his glass, as though he was piecing together the puzzle in his mind.

He was, in fairness, by his own father's admission, a very clever boy.

"I see" Orion replied simply, taking a slow step closer to his still-seated son. "Well, at least I know the woman's suspicions weren't based on nothing. You know, it's rather a curious idea that she has about exactly what she believes you are up to..."

Orion's words had barely left his lips before Sirius suddenly stood up and made a bolt for the door, but with a quick, swift flick of his father's wand, the door slammed and locked shut before the boy had barely made it halfway to freedom.

Shaking, Sirius drew his wand from his robes pocket in an attempt to unlock the door, but Orion, having expected this from him, disarmed him and summoned the wand to his own hand in one quick, swift, silent move, leaving Sirius stood there, stunned and defenceless.

Orion pocketed his son's wand, smoothly.

"I did not give you permission to leave" Orion snapped. His previous, casual demeanour was gone, replaced suddenly by the stern, authoritarian aura that Sirius was more used to seeing.

Sirius looked helplessly between his father and the locked door, his eyes wild, his breathing ragged.

He was trapped and he clearly knew it.

"What are you playing at?" Sirius demanded, his panic quickly turning to anger.

"I have questions I need answering and you are not leaving this room until I am satisfied that you have answered them" Orion explained, his voice calm but firm. "Not that I have any doubt that you will"

"And the only way you can get me to answer them is to spike my drink?"

Sirius scoffed, darkly.

"Remind me to withdraw that application I sent off for the Prophet's 'Father of the Year' competition"

"Don't insult your own intelligence by thinking that I'd believe a single word that came out of that mouth of yours without a little persuasion" Orion snapped, taking a sudden step closer to Sirius, who seemed to shrink away as his father approached. "Now, you are going to tell me more about this illicit endeavour of yours, aren't you?"

"Yes" Sirius replied automatically, barely having a moment to stop himself.

The boy whirled round suddenly and slammed his fists into the wall, yelling out in anger and frustration.

Orion observed, silently, as his son paced across the room restlessly.

Orion was reminded vividly of a lion in a cage.

Or a snake pit, he mused to himself.

"Calm down, Sirius" said Orion, softly.

"Calm down?!" Sirius snapped loudly, glaring at his father, his eyes alight with fury. "You spike my drink, you lock me in this room and demand to know my private business and you tell me to_ calm down?!_"

"You-" Orion seethed as he raised his wand arm and pointed it at Sirius, who flinched at the sight of his father's wand.

Orion took another few, slow steps closer to Sirius. The boy seemed rooted to the spot with fear.

" -are my son. You have no entitlement to keep any business private from me, especially when that business involves things you should not be doing in the first place. Now I am telling you, that door will not open again until I am satisfied that you have adequately answered my questions. Is that understood?"

"Yes" Sirius muttered, screwing his eyes shut in frustration at his inability not to answer promptly.

"Good" said Orion, lowering his wand, cool and composed once more.

Sirius, by now, was pressed up against the wall.

"Now, tell me-" Orion continued and Sirius's jaw clenched shut in preparation of the demands he was about to be forced to answer. " -what, exactly, is the nature of these illegal activities of yours? What have you been doing in school this year that you shouldn't have?"

"Learn- learning to- to be-" Sirius was hunched over, leaning heavily on the wall for support as he attempted to force himself to be silent.

Orion has to admit, its an impressive display of force against the Veritaserum. Perhaps he had been too generous in his dosage of one drop. Perhaps he should have considered administering two.

But both he and Sirius knew that his resistance was ultimately futile. He would fail, in the end.

"Answer me, Sirius" Orion ordered firmly. "What have you been learning this year that you shouldn't have?"

"Learning to be an Animagus"

The truth, at last.

The Pettigrew woman's suspicions were correct. Sirius, Orion's son, had been attempting to master what few fully-grown wizards were capable of, whilst at school.

Something seemed to break inside Sirius as the fact that he'd just blown what was sure to be his greatest secret. He seemed to shrink a little smaller, lean a little further into the wall, and he looked positively furious with himself.

"And did you- Did you _succeed_?" Orion asked, somewhat hesitantly.

"Yes" came Sirius's automatic, whispered reply.

Orion fell silent for a moment, pondering this news.

There have been several known Blacks in the past who had successfully mastered the art of becoming Animagi over the years, none of whom had followed the Ministry-approved route which required supervision and registration throughout the process. What went on within the Black family and between its members was none of the Ministry's business and their irritating taste for interference where it was not welcome.

What Sirius did, however, was very much Orion's business. And at sixteen, Sirius had behaved recklessly and positively dangerously for attempting such a feat of magic.

He had risked becoming the first Black in history to be expelled from Hogwarts, had he been caught.

And had risked serious and permanent injury and disfigurement to himself had he gotten the most minute detail of the process wrong.

Orion winced at the images he had seen in some of the less savoury books amongst the family's personal library, of witches and wizards who had been permanently disfigured by their failed attempts to master the art of the Animagus.

Anger begins to boil inside Orion. His son, his heir, could have been ruined by his own recklessness and stupidity.

Sirius had, by now, slumped down against the wall to sit on the floor, his knees pulled up to his chest, his arms resting atop them, sulkily.

"There, that's what you wanted to know. Are you happy now?" the boy snapped, sullenly, without looking up at his father.

His son's lack of remorse for his crimes only enraged Orion further.

"You foolish boy..." said Orion, glaring down at his impossibly insolent sixteen-year-old son. "Of all the stupid, reckless things you've done..."

"Oh come off it, plenty of Blacks have become Animagi before"

"Wizards who are of age and out of school!" Orion snapped harshly, voice raising slightly.

Sirius flinched a little, though his insolent scowl remained firmly in place.

He forced himself to breathe deep and regain his composure, in spite of his overwhelming urge to grasp his son by the shoulders and give him a good shake.

"Well, then?" he said instead, folding his arms expectantly. "Out with it, boy, what type of animal are you?"

Sirius tried, yet again, to avoid the unbearable pull of the truth serum on his vocal chords by hiding his head in his lap, forehead rested on his arms to muffle the words forcing themselves from his mouth.

"Answer me properly, Sirius. What animal do you transform into?"

Sirius's head snapped up and his voice rang clearly.

"I'm a dog"

Orion couldn't help but let out a chuckle at this new information.

Sirius's scowl glared up at him from his curled-up position on the floor.

"Of course" said Orion. "I should have guessed, really. Rather fitting, I must say"

Sirius repeated that most irritating gesture of tossing his hair out of his eyes, his angry scowl melting into one of almost laziness.

Orion could see the boy was is trying to put on a facade of not caring about the severity of the situation he found himself in.

"There, you've got your answers" said Sirius, casually. "Can I go now?"

Orion was struck by his son's outright lack of remorse for his crimes. His sheer impertinence in this moment was quite simply astounding.

"You sit there-"

Orion stepped closer to his son, his shadow completely shrouding the boy, who looked up but avoided meeting his father's harsh glare.

"-and demand to be let go, without so much as an apology for your disgraceful behaviour... Have you no shame for your actions?"

"No" Sirius says automatically, powerless to stop the automatic, truthful reply.

Orion hadn't expected one. He'd spoken somewhat rhetorically, but this further revelation of raw truth from his insolent son only further drove home what he already knew.

"You truly are a disgraceful piece of work" Orion seethed furiously, shaking his head down at Sirius. "All the trouble you've caused at school, the countless owls about your behaviour..."

Sirius glanced up at him, caught his father's disapproving eye for a moment and looked away. He seemed remarkably self conscious. He hugged his knees tighter.

Orion sighed in tired frustration and rubbed his temple.

"Why, Sirius?" he asked. "Why would you do such a stupid, reckless thing?"

It was a question which under normal circumstances, he would have asked rhetorically, purely out of exasperation with his wayward eldest child, but under current circumstances, he was gifted with a forcibly truthful answer.

"To help a friend" Sirius said, his voice sounding notably more panicked as the words automatically flowed from him.

"Which friend?" Orion probed deeper. "The Pettigrew boy? Or James Potter, I suppose?"

"No" said Sirius, his nails digging into his arms in a desperate effort of trying to stop himself from doing what he knew he couldn't prevent.

"Which friend were you helping, Sirius?"

The boy's eyes screwed shut with effort.

"Remus Lupin"

Orion was surprised.

He vaguely remembered the name Lupin from his own schooldays - a Gryffindor boy in his year by the name of Lyall, not that he'd ever had much time for him.

"Lyall Lupin's son?" Orion asked, for clarification.

"Yes" Sirius murmured.

"And what did this boy need help with, exactly, that required you to become an Animagus?"

Sirius's threw his head onto his arms again with a moan, biting down on his own arm in an attempt to muffle his words.

Orion was growing impatient.

Sirius could try, but ultimately he could not fight the effects of the Veritaserum for long, a fact they both knew.

Orion had had enough of his foolish efforts to delay the inevitable.

He leaned down, jerked his son's head up by the collar of his robes, grabbed his chin and forced Sirius to look up at him.

"Tell me-"

"Father, please-"

"Why does Remus Lupin need your _help_, Sirius?"

"Because he's a werewolf" Sirius practically gasped out the words through heavy breaths.

Orion released his hold on Sirius, stunned at this latest revelation.

Lyall Lupin's boy, a werewolf? When? How?

But then, Sirius-

The separate strands of the puzzle began to weave themselves together in Orion's head, coming to form the bigger picture.

Werewolves don't attack animals, only humans. So Sirius had-

"You transform into a _dog_, to spend the full moon with a _werewolf_?"

Orion spoke slowly and quietly, almost hesitantly.

Sirius's head had dropped to rest on his folded arms, his face hidden in his lap.

"Yes" Sirius's voice came in a broken whisper.

At last, he was the picture of shame. Though not, Orion knew all too well, of his illicit activities, as he ought. But of giving up his friend's secret.

"When did you learn to do this?" Orion demanded, his voice hard as stone, but forcibly calm.

"We finally managed it last Spring. April" Sirius's voice is broken, monotone.

Almost four months ago. His son had spent four full moons running amok in the guise of a dog with a bloodthirsty beast.

Orion was furious.

But also, hadn't Sirius said "we"?

"You said_ 'we'_ finally managed it..." says Orion.

Sirius's head snapped up from his lap, his eyes wide with alarm.

"Don't make me say any more" Sirius begged, his voice panicked again. "Please, don't"

Orion ignored his son's pleas, pushing ahead for more information.

"Who else is involved in this, Sirius?"

"James Potter and Peter Pettigrew" Sirius answered automatically, his nails digging into the skin of his arms again in frustration at his lack of control over his words.

"They are both Animagi as well?"

"Yes"

"I see" Orion replied, coolly.

He supposed to himself that the Pettigrew woman must have been hoping for some sort of agreement of silence with her letter after all.

"Well, I must admit I'm surprised that the Pettigrew boy could manage such a feat. But I can't say I'm surprised that the Potter boy is involved in this whole absurd affair"

"Shut up about James" Sirius snapped, his fire igniting once more at the insult towards the friend to which he was so annoyingly devoted.

"Mind your tone, boy" Orion warned, sharply.

"Or what?" Sirius shot back. sitting up straighter from his curled-up position. "You've already sunk low enough to trick me into taking truth serum to get what you want out of me, how much lower are you going to go? What are you going to do next, hex me for my crimes, perhaps?"

"Don't be ridiculous"

Orion turned away from his son and strode back over to his desk, taking a deep breath to compose himself and his thoughts.

He caught a glimpse of the fading sunset poking through the curtains behind his desk. The short, golden period of sunset had already passed, the pink-and-gold fading to lilac. It was nearly dusk.

"Well forgive me for not quite believing you're above it, after this _stunt_ you've pulled"

Orion looked round sharply to find Sirius still sat on the floor, staring at him with a look that almost constituted pure loathing.

Almost.

"You left me with no choice" Orion snapped, unable to prevent his voice rising with frustration at the insolent whelp glaring at him so insolently.

"You could have just asked me"

Sirius's voice was loud, accusing.

"You would have lied" Orion snapped at his son, no longer able to prevent his frustration from raising his own voice for him. "You would have lied to me now, the same way you lie to myself and your mother almost every day"

Sirius was silenced by his father's angry onslaught.

But Orion wasn't finished. The pent-up emotions he bore towards his son were overfilling at last, and there was no way to close the floodgates now.

"You show us no respect, day after day" he seethed, striding back toward Sirius. "You skulk about this house like a petulant child, playing at dressing up like a common Muggle, deliberately provoking your mother into shouting matches and making everyone in this house miserable with your foolish, immature behaviour"

Sirius sat in stunned silence, staring up at his father. He blinked harshly, breathed deeply, and his jaw was clenched tight.

"_Why_, Sirius?" Orion demanded to know, the Veritaserum being swept away against the overpowering tide of his emotions. "Why must you _always_ be so insolent? For once, why can't you just _behave?_"

"Because it's the only way I can get you to notice me!"

Sirius practically screamed his words. His body seemed to deflate as they left him, as though he had released an intolerably heavy burden from his shoulders. His head fell forward into his arms once again and his body began to tremble.

Orion observed, stunned, as the sound of choked breathing emitted from his son's curled-up body.

He stood over his son, speechless. Sirius's words had hit him like a tonne of bricks, and had the boy not been under the influence of Veritaserum, he would probably have brushed them off as a feeble attempt at turning the situation into his own cry for sympathy as a wronged martyr.

But this was Sirius's deepest and honest truth. And his father had little idea of how to respond.

"You think you have to misbehave... to get my attention?" he asked, quietly.

"Yes" came Sirius's muffled reply. He seemed to tighten his curl further, as if he was trying to will himself to disappear altogether, if he could only shrink himself small enough.

"That is _absurd_" said Orion, not quite as certainly as he'd have liked. "If you truly wanted my attention you'd have behaved yourself properly, not driven me to the point of being unable to stand the sight of you with your insolence"

Sirius was silent. It seemed he had already revealed far too much of himself involuntarily for his own liking and had no further intention of continuing this conversation.

But this was a can of worms that could not simply be closed again.

Orion might finally be getting to the root of the trouble concerning his eldest son's ever-ongoing crusade against his parents and all that they stood for.

The elder Black slowly got to his knees, crouching before his son, and reached out to, gently but firmly, draw Sirius's head up from his lap by his chin.

The boy looked tired, worn out, and his grey eyes, once so alive with defiance, looked vulnerable.

There was a distinct over-shine to them - they practically glistened.

"Tell me, Sirius, why is it that you misbehave so deliberately?" Orion asked, softly.

Because it's always been the only way to make you stop ignoring me" Sirius replied, his voice shaky. His eyes flitted to and from his father's, never able to keep his gaze for more than a few seconds at a time.

Orion sighed and released him.

Sirius leaned back against the wall, his knees still pulled up, his eyes fixed to the floor.

"You think I deliberately ignore you?"

Orion kept his voice calm and quiet, as though his son were a skittish colt that may flee at an abrupt word.

"Yes" Sirius practically whispered through shallow breaths.

Orion pondered this idea, this absurd idea, that his son had somehow taken to heart, that he was a deliberately ignorant man who bore no interest in his own children. His first and only thought was to think this a downright ungrateful attitude for his son to have.

"Why?" he asked, trying hard not to allow himself to sound as indignant as he felt. "Where exactly have you gotten this notion from that I neglect to take an interest in you? You've known nothing but wealth and privilege your entire short life, have been afforded everything money could buy... Have we not indulged you enough, over the years? Have we not given you everything you could want?"

"No..." Sirius replied, turning his head away. "Not everything"

Orion sighed, exasperated at the nerve of his spoilt whelp of a son.

"What, then?" he asked, unable to keep his frustration out of his tone. "What is it that you want that we've neglected to give you? What more from me could you possibly want?"

The answer he received was not one he could have predicted in a hundred years.

"Love"

Sirius's one, weak, whispered word crashed down upon Orion harder than if a Hippogriff had fallen from the sky and landed right on top of him.

He stared, speechless, at his sixteen-year-old son. The boy was a mere shadow of his former, cocky, insolent self - the boy he had been what had in fact been barely half an hour ago, but what now felt like far, far longer.

The heavy, tense silence between the father and son was interrupted only by the faint ticking of the clock over the mantelpiece.

It was several minutes before Orion finally found the ability to speak the words he'd never, not in a million years, thought he'd have to actually speak.

"I do love you"

His voice was far quieter and far more sincere than it had been all evening.

Sirius's head jerked, and Orion was reminded, briefly, of a dog's ears pricking up at a noise it wasn't quite certain it had heard.

"Really?" he asked, hopefully.

Orion was struck by how remarkably childlike his son, always so keen to be viewed as an adult, suddenly seemed. With his watery eyes and vulnerable posture, he looked about ten years younger.

"Of course" Orion replied. "Why do I even need to say such a thing?"

"Because how am I supposed to know if you don't tell me?"

As well as the Veritaserum rendered Sirius unable to hold back his words, it seemed to have the unexpected effect of leaving Orion incapable of knowing the right words to say.

He pondered the matter he had been confronted with - the fact that his eldest son and heir, who was, insolent though he may be, ultimately his greatest pride, was genuinely convinced that his father did not love him.

"I cannot think of what I could have done to make you think this..." he found himself muttering uncertainly, half to himself, really, though of course, he was not the only one within earshot of his thoughts.

"Rubbish" Sirius shot at him, a spark of his usual confidence returning. "You spend your entire life locked away in this bloody room, ignoring everyone whenever you do come out. You barely look up from your plate at meals, you never write, and God forbid you should ever see fit to actually compliment me, unless its to brag about how clever I am to anyone who might have something to offer you in knowing it. I'm not a son to you. All I am in your eyes is an heir to carry on the bloodline and a useful bargaining chip to marry off to the daughter of the highest bidder"

Sirius ranted, pouring his heart and soul into his words, unleashing sixteen years' worth of emotions into his words, spurred on by the truth serum coursing through his veins.

And, for once in his life, Orion simply listened.

Sirius's vibrant outburst ended, and he paused for a moment before laying his head sideways on his arms again. He seemed exhausted, and when he spoke again, his words were softer.

"You don't care what I do so long as I'm still alive to inherit and marry off, so why hold back in doing what I want. And hey, if what I do gets to you actually notice me for once, even if it's just to threaten to pull me out of school again, then at least that's better than nothing"

His son's words struck Orion right to his core. On a day in which he had expected the truth from his son, the truth was exactly what he had gotten.

Sixteen years' worth of memories suddenly rushed through the elder Black's mind in a haze.

Memories of his sons, still very young, presenting him with their juvenile pieces of homework each evening. He recalled in his mind, Sirius's young face, bright with enthusiasm as he proudly waved bits of paper at him. The boy had calmed a little once he'd received his daily, approving nod, but had never ceased his pestering completely, always needing something more, something Orion saw now he had never once provided.

He recalled Sirius's first day of school, when he, Walburga and Regulus had sent him off on the Hogwarts Express for the first time, none of them knowing the upheaval that would follow. He remembered, vaguely, the many families in the background, hugging and kissing their children, loudly proclaiming their love and well-wishes for their children's commencing school year. Orion could recall giving Sirius, what he at least thought was, an indulgent squeeze of the shoulder and head pat before sending him off on the train.

He recalled the many screaming matches that had occurred within the walls of this noble house of their ancestors, the likes of which it had never born witness to before. The petty disagreements, the teenage outbursts, the episodes which Orion had put down to simple immaturity. All this time, Orion had thought his son was rebelling because he wanted to be shut out.

But he didn't. Sirius wanted to be drawn closer.

And for once in his life, Orion responded to his natural instinct.

He leaned forward, wrapped his arms around his son and pulled him in, holding him close to his chest.

Sirius did not struggle, not did he protest at being manhandled. If anything, he seemed to melt into his father's hold. Orion felt him lean in heavily against his chest, relaxing further into him the tighter he held him.

Orion felt Sirius's shuddering breath, his whole body shaking slightly as he inhaled.

Orion instinctively held his son tighter, holding his the boy's head to his chest and stroking his fingers through his tangled black mane.

This single, loving gesture proved to be the straw that broke the camel's back. Sirius, at last, gave in to the urge to release the sobs that he'd been valiantly attempting to hold back until now.

There they sat, on the study floor, son enveloped in his father's embrace for the first time in either of their memories, like a moment suspended in time. Even the clock's constant ticking seemed to cease.

"I- never meant for you to feel that way" Orion murmured into his son's hair. He may not be dosed with Veritaserum himself, but he suddenly felt he could not halt his own truths from pouring out from where they always been kept safely locked away inside him.

"Well you did" Sirius snapped, pulling away suddenly with a violent sniff, wiping his hand quickly over his eyes in an attempt to wipe away the swollen, damp redness of them.

"Come now, Sirius, allow me some courtesy" Orion replied, resisting the powerful urge to grab hold of his son and pull him back to his chest.

"For what, exactly?" Sirius snapped again, rudely, as he scrambled to his feet and smoothed his clothes, turning his back on his father.

Orion quickly stood up, regaining the influence of stature over his son. At sixteen, Sirius was fast catching up to his father in height, but for now at least, the father still had several inches' advantage over his son.

"I may have inadvertently made you feel you weren't loved, as you say, but you cannot shoulder all of the blame away from yourself in this matter" said Orion. "Short of outright reading into your mind every day, how in Merlin's name am I supposed to know what you're thinking if you do not _tell_ me?"

"I shouldn't have to tell you!" Sirius shot back, whirling round to fix Orion with a scowl. "It might have escaped your notice but you are the parent in this situation. I shouldn't have to tell you how to do _your_ bloody job!"

Orion felt his irritation growing again at his son's crude, disrespectful tone. He also felt his guard going up once more. To be told his son's true feelings was one thing, to be lectured about his failings as a father by his son was entirely another issue.

"Hold your tongue, boy"

He fixed Sirius with a warned with a glare before turning and walking back towards his desk.

The sky behind the chink in the curtains had darkened to the distinct purple of summer twilight.

"Oh come off it, Dad" he heard Sirius snap from behind him.

There was a scuffling noise as the boy rose up from his curled-up position to stand once more.

"Is this really what it takes for you to realise that you've done a rubbish job? Dosing your own son with Veritaserum only to turn away when the truth you get isn't what you wanted to hear?"

Orion stared through the gap in the curtains, fixated on the rich, evening sky.

Sirius was further urged on in his onslaught by his father's lack of reply.

"So what now, eh? You're just going to shut yourself away from your problems, like you always do? Is that what you're going to do when I'm gone, as well? Just ign-"

Orion's whirled round suddenly at his son's words.

Sirius stood, looking startled, his hand clamped over his mouth. Caught up in his emotion, it seemed he had forgotten the truth serum still addling his mind and influencing his words.

"What did you say?" Orion demanded to know.

"I asked if you were going to shut yourself away from your problems when I'm gone" Sirius repeated helplessly, turning away from Orion to pace restlessly as he'd done at the start of this most unusual of evenings.

"What do you mean by that?"

Sirius had lifted his arm to his face again, desperately attempting once more to stem the flow of his words by biting down on himself.

Orion was through with this entire absurdity. He crossed the room swiftly, yanked Sirius's arm away from his face and grabbed him fiercely by the chin once more, boring into his panicked eyes.

"What are you _planning_, boy?" the elder Black demanded of the younger.

"I'm leaving home tonight. I'm going to live with James"

Orion was struck by how deeply those words struck him.

He was angry, as he'd have expected himself to be. But that anger was overshadowed by something else. Something rather unexpected.

Hurt.

"No you're not" Orion whispered, quietly but firmly.

"What-"

"I said no" Orion said, louder. "You are not going anywhere tonight, let alone to the house of that Potter boy"

He paused, awaiting a bold, defiant retaliation from his son, the likes of which he was used to receiving when outlining his authority.

But when none came, he continued laying out his terms.

"You will remain in this house at all times, for the rest of the summer" he declared, firmly. "You are not to leave this house without being accompanied by either myself or your mother. You will put aside this ridiculous notion of sneaking away like a common criminal. And in return, I will not report to Hogwarts the illegal activities you undertook whilst on school premises. I'm sure you do not wish to be expelled with only two years to go, do you?"

Sirius shook his head firmly, as far as Orion's grip on his chin allowed.

"Then do I have your complete cooperation in this matter?"

"Yes, Father"

Orion had expected more push-back from Sirius at the utter rejection of his ridiculous plan. But Sirius, to his surprise, did not retaliate. If anything, he seemed somewhat hopeful in the way he looked up at his father.

He did not attempt to pull his face free from his father's grasp.

Orion took advantage of this seemingly trance-like state his son had descended into and looked directly into his son's eyes, their steel grey identical to his own.

"You are going to stay right here, at home, where you belong, with your family-"

He paused for a moment, hesitating before continuing.

"-with your family that loves you. Is this in any way unclear?"

"No"

Thank Merlin for the truth serum. Otherwise, Orion would have been tempted to take such a meek reply as an attempt to get off the hook easily, only to buy himself the time to carry out his ridiculous escape, regardless.

"Good" Orion replied, simply.

Sirius seemed subdued. Cowed, rather, at his father's somewhat intimidating display.

Orion considered the moment to himself. It was not unlike any other time in which Sirius had been sent to his study for chastising. He had been made to confess his crimes, well and truly informed of how and why he was wrong, and made to agree that he understood.

All was as had been before, so far.

Which was precisely the problem.

"Come here" Orion found himself murmuring, as he released his hold on his son's chin and wrapped his arms around him once more.

Sirius allowed himself to be pulled into the hug, resting his head against Orion's chest and relaxing into the arms that held him tight.

After a few moments of peaceful silence, there was a murmur from Sirius.

"What?" Orion asked quietly, all propriety cast aside.

"I'm sorry" Sirius repeated solemnly into his father's robes.

Orion felt his heart sink a little.

It was the phrase he had begun this evening's audience with indenting to get out of his son, but now that he'd achieved his aim, it felt less satisfying than he could have imagined.

"I know" he replied, whispering the words into the hair on top of his son's head.

He hesitated for a moment, before adding, "I'm sorry, too"

He rubbed his hand gently across his son's back, reassuringly.

Sirius responded with a contented sigh into his father's chest.

If Orion had turned round to inspect the sky through the chink in the study curtains, he'd have seen the last of the deep, twilight purple fade into the rich, deep blue of the night sky - the end of another day, and the promise of a new one approaching.


End file.
